A spam message has been shared massively on Facebook to gain clicks on Google ads claiming to be a COVID-19 charity which offers awards through a lucky draw, organised by the UAE crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
CLAIM
Several users on the Facebook group called 'Lovers of Sheikhs of the Emirates,' posted the message, "How is everyone?‼‼ ️ This is not fraud. I'am Hamdan Al Maktoum. My team and I is on organize the charitable organization Pandemic COVID-19 for all countries. Choose the first letter of your name and you will receive according to your name.!" (sic)
The link in the post direct the users to a blog, "Competition of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum," dated 21 August 2020.
It states that the Prince offers several "prizes and valuable gifts," to winners of a lucky draw.
It then goes on to illustrate the first and second prizes, which would be awarded to 25 participants each. The first prize would be $100,000 and the second prize would be a "new car model of the year 2020."
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The blog has clearly been designed to get clicks on Google ads by unsuspecting users.
The text on the images translates to, "click on the link below the image to win the competition."
The only link below the images is that of Google ads, as can be seen in the screenshots below.
The user is redirected to a Google ads page.
Further, the images used in the blog are file photos of the crown prince.
We found the first image in an article by the official UAE news agency, Emirates News Agency (WAM), about the crown prince's comments on the formation of the third Dubai Youth Council.
We also found the image of the "second prize," a red Mercedes, in a Business Insider article, "There's A Red Mercedes With A Big Red Bow Parked Outside Credit Suisse Right Now," dated 10 December 2012.
Julia La Roche the author of the article has also been credited for the image.
The article states, "This shiny, new Mercedes with a big red bow is parked outside Credit Suisse's New York offices right now near Madison Square Park". The car was parked for an event at the restaurant, Eleven Madison Park.
Further, there are no news reports of the crown prince of UAE initiating any such "relief" activities for COVID-19.
Evidently, the blog has been created to scam the users into clicking Google ads to generate revenue.
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